its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Saw a silhouette across a fluorescent
Floating overhead, undoing his helmet
Through the murky beams and blue-green sea life
I saw him spinnin' towards the moonlight
I pull him in, he wasn't breathin'
His eyes were wide and I saw two of me there
There's an ugly buzz that hovers just above the quiet
Found a way to make it silent
I'm comin' up for air [Repeat: x2]
Air [Repeat: x2]
They hold my hand and ask me to pull through
A voice I know says "Dear, he probably can't hear you"
Comin' up for air [Repeat: x3]
Floating overhead, undoing his helmet
Through the murky beams and blue-green sea life
I saw him spinnin' towards the moonlight
I pull him in, he wasn't breathin'
His eyes were wide and I saw two of me there
There's an ugly buzz that hovers just above the quiet
Found a way to make it silent
I'm comin' up for air [Repeat: x2]
Air [Repeat: x2]
They hold my hand and ask me to pull through
A voice I know says "Dear, he probably can't hear you"
Comin' up for air [Repeat: x3]
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Siberian Kiss
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I liked some of the interpretations here...I think it's possible that (as someone said on the first page) that the song functions as a metaphor...drowning in water (and being rescued), and possibly a person in a coma in the hospital.
When I hear this song, I see a picture in my mind...a scene...of this person who is being rescued from drowning out in the sea, rescuers trying to revive him, but the rescued person who IS/ISN'T revived.
I like the theory that it is an out of body experience for the individual who is rescued. When someone commented that we should pay close attention to the lyric "I saw two of me there" I got another clue about the narration of the song...I think.
It sounds right that the first stanza is sung by the drowned individual. The beginning of the next stanza is sung by the rescuer. When the rescuer/narrator says "I saw two of me there," afterwards, it's like the narration changes, and the next two lines are said by the drowned person.
"There's an ugly buzz that hovers just above the quiet. I found a way to make it silent" Especially in the second line the singer (Ben) slows down and his voice gets quieter. I think these lines refer to the buzz and noise around the rescue scene...the crowd of people around, or the noise of the rescuers moving around, shouting orders, as they try to save the person. The person finds a way to make it silent...IMO, this is as though the person mentally blocks out the noise...and it is at this time, that the person has 'decided' not to wake up (if you believe that the person dies in the end).